SALT LAKE CITY — A federal indictment unsealed this month charges a Mexican man with defrauding investors in a $1 million Ponzi scheme in Utah.
Christian Montiel-Caleit, 45, was living in West Valley City when he was arrested on Jan. 29 after being indicted by a federal grand jury. He is accused of securities fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and illegal reentry of a previously removed alien.
Beginning in 2021, Montiel-Caleit fraudulently obtained funds from investors by promising high returns. The funds for the returns, however, came from newer investors and by December 2024, investors were no longer receiving their returns as promised, court documents state…